It is often useful in sales to provide immersive promotional materials to entice potential buyers. This is particularly true in automotive sales. It is well known in the field that ads featuring more pictures of the vehicle will attract more attention, and if at auction, command a higher price. This is true in part because it is important for the customer to get a detailed understanding of the visual condition of the vehicle. Even more importantly, detailed photographs implant imagery of the vehicle in the prospective buyer's mind and implant them with the “fantasy” of owning the vehicle.
Automotive retailers have taken this concept a step further and are now integrating video tours of their vehicles in their classifieds and promotional materials. Video is becoming the first media choice for prospective buyers on the web and mobile devices. 80% of all auto shoppers pursue online videos in their research, and half of all car shoppers watch at least thirty minutes of video during the buying process.
Moreover, video has the potential to motivate buyers like no other media. A video gives shoppers the sense that they're standing beside the car. They can see it, hear it, learn about it, almost touch it—they may even dream about it. A well-made video helps a buyer visualize owning the car. Buyers will research countless sites before narrowing their selection, and when they're ready to move they typically only visit one or two dealers. That is why it is absolutely critical for retailers make an impression on potential buyers with their classifieds.
Organizing the various media on the vehicles in an inventory is a difficult task. This is particularly true when video or pictures are custom edited for particular consumers, and multiple salespersons make changes to the content. In the current market, retailers don't have a complete custom solution to edit photos, incorporate additional sound tracks to existing video, and accommodate multiple users. Once the original photos and video are taken, they cannot be edited and organized by the retailer in a convenient manner. A voiceover may not be done in the field because of wind noise, or an airplane flying overhead distorting the recording.
There is a need in the art for a convenient way to organize multimedia promotional materials for large stocks of merchandise.